Top 6 On-Page SEO Best Practices to Increase Organic Traffic in 2025

On-page SEO is the practice of optimizing your webpages to help them rank higher in search results. These practices include optimizing on-page elements like page titles, headers, images, and URLs, as well as content elements like incorporating relevant keywords, linking throughout your site, and focusing on specific topics.

On-page SEO practices help you build your website with your target audience in mind and help you rank within search engines.

In this guide, we'll break down the essential on-page SEO best practices that can help you climb the search rankings and drive more traffic to your website.

HTML Elements

Page Titles

The page title, also known as the title tag, is the HTML element that defines the title of your webpage. You can see page titles in the tabs at the top of a web browser. They also appear on search engine result pages (SERPs) - the title of an entry on a results page uses the page title.

On-page SEO best practices for page titles include:

• Using the primary or main keyword in your page title.

• Keeping page titles under 60 characters long, so there's no risk of it being shortened on a results page.

• Creating a page title that's interesting, relevant, and enticing to your target audience.

Headers

Headers, also known as heading tags, are HTML elements H1-H6 that are used to identify headings and subheadings within your content from other types of text (e.g., paragraph text). Using keywords in headers is also a best practice because it helps Google better understand what your page is about, as well as the content they are about to read. This is especially important for longer pieces in which you've wrapped several topics into one piece.

Use headers to provide a clear structure and hierarchy for your content that helps both users and search engines navigate your page.

On-page SEO best practices for headers include:

• Using only one H1 per page to establish the main focus of the page. This is usually the title of the page or post.

• Using the H1 to include the primary keyword of your page.

• Use headers to break up your content into smaller, digestible sections that are easy to read and understand.

• Use headers to include relevant keywords and phrases that summarize the main points of each section.

Using H2, H3, and other header tags to create a logical and clear hierarchy for your content. For example, use H2 for main sections, H3 for subsections, H4 for sub-subsections, etc.

This can improve the overall user experience by allowing readers to quickly find and refer to specific content.

Meta Descriptions

A meta description is a short summary, around 155 characters, that describes the contents of a webpage. It's shown on SERPs below the title of the page.

Meta descriptions don't directly impact search rankings, but they can influence click-through rates.

On-page SEO best practices for meta descriptions include:

• Front-loading the meta description with keywords and important information, and leaving any calls to action or secondary information to the end.

• Avoiding the use of quotation marks, as Google will cut off the description if it encounters them.

• Creating a meta description that's relevant and helpful for your target audience.

Meta descriptions are important because they show up in the search results pages and entice searchers to click on the result, thereby generating traffic. Google has said that having detailed meta descriptions on your pages does help them understand the content of that page and how that represents your site. Generally speaking, on-page SEO best practices for meta description call for you to:

• Weave your keywords into the meta descriptions as naturally as possible - This reinforces to Google the intent of the page and makes it easier for Google's spiders to match the meta description with user queries.

• Use your keywords to highlight user-focused benefits, such as "harvesting with AI farming technology."

• Use the keywords towards the start of the meta descriptions, if possible.

Image Alt-Text

Alt text describes the contents of an image in as much detail as possible, so search engine crawlers can understand what's on the page. Alt text also makes your website accessible to screen readers, thereby making it accessible to people who are blind or have poor eyesight.

On-page SEO best practices for writing alt text include:

• Writing descriptive alt text that includes the page's primary keyword.

• Keeping your alt text short and sweet, and to the point.

• Sharing information that is purposeful and helpful to search engine crawlers and users.

Alt text also provides better context (or, if an image fails to load, a better description) to search engine crawlers, helping them to accurately index an image. This improves on-page SEO.

This step should be done in addition to including images in your blog post or site page, as image files provide another opportunity to target your primary or secondary keywords.

Structured Markup

Structured markup, or structured data, is the process of using HTML tags to help search engines better understand the content on your pages. Structured data is added directly to a page's HTML markup. Using Structured Data Markup, you can improve how your page displays in the SERPs by enhancing the rich snippets that are displayed beneath the page title. On-page SEO best practices for using structured data include:

• Following Google's Structured Data Guidelines for your target search engine.

• Only using structured data to display any information visible on the page to avoid being penalized.

• Using structured data on all pages, not just product pages. Structured data can be used to display not just product pages but also recipes, documentaries, and - in certain cases - blog posts.

Page URLs

Each page of your website has a uniform resource locator (URL), which is the address of that page on the web. On-page SEO best practices for page URLs include:

• Including the relevant keywords that you want the page to rank for. For example, HubSpot's SEO topics page, which ranks on SERPs according to the "SEO topics" keyword, has the URL hubspot.com/seo-topics.

• Ensuring it accurately reflects the contents of your page.

• Making them short and easy to understand - try to stick to around three to five words.

On-Page SEO Best Practices for 2025

It's plain to see that on-page SEO elements, especially those that are related to content, cannot be undertaken without reviewing off-page SEO factors and technical SEO. It's essential to have great content above all else and ensure it's written with a keyword landscape in mind, and supported by technical SEO elements.

On-page SEO isn't just a set-it-and-forget-it strategy; it's an ongoing process that evolves with search engine algorithms and user behavior. By staying up-to-date with best practices and continuously optimizing your content, you'll not only improve your search rankings but also create a more user-friendly website.